The Russian-Ukrainian War Is Still Going On

Despite Putin’s best efforts, the Russian-Ukrainian war hasn’t ended yet. It’s still going, with many more people dead than were originally estimated. The war has also cost the United States trillions of dollars, with the cost of the conflict alone in 2014 averaging over $18 billion a month.

Russia’s military reputation is in a shambles

Despite Russia’s claims of being a military superpower, its military reputation is in shambles. The war in Ukraine has destroyed the Russian military’s reputation and its economy.

Countless soldiers have been killed, including civilians. There have been at least 3,000 Russian deaths.

There is also evidence of an incompetence and lack of leadership in the Russian military. The Ukrainian military has proven far more effective than the Russian forces. It has used armed drones supplied by Turkey, downed military transport planes carrying Russian paratroopers, and shot down helicopters.

It’s not surprising that Russia’s soldiers were unprepared for the stiff resistance of the Ukrainian army. Russia drew false confidence from its success in securing Crimea. It was relying on outdated Soviet-era equipment.

The Russian army is a centralized and flawed institution. There are too many colonels and not enough senior enlisted men to train the soldiers. Its leaders are too risk averse.

The Russian army suffers from low morale. It’s a deeply flawed institution that is plagued by corruption.

The Russian military’s failures have caused it to rethink training practices. It’s not uncommon for a military officer to have to practise on dummies before he can conduct one real operation.

Russian generals appear to have absorbed the worst lessons of war. They are risk averse, unwilling to take personal responsibility.

Russia’s obsession with Ukraine

Throughout the past decade, Ukraine has regularly made headlines in the international community. Whether attempting to balance with the West or pursuing regime change, Ukraine has been on the front lines of world affairs.

In 2004, Russian President Vladimir Putin had the opportunity to reclaim Ukraine. However, he decided against re-invading the country. Instead, he ordered massive deployment of troops to the Ukrainian border.

In recent years, Ukraine has become an important agricultural hub of Europe. It is also a major recipient of Russia’s oil and gas. There are many Russian companies operating in the country.

During the early days of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was the partner of choice for Russia. Its proximity to Russia ensured that the USSR could not continue without Ukraine.

In the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, the former Soviet republics joined NATO. Meanwhile, Russia has been making a one-sided effort to restore Ukraine to its orbit. Despite international opprobrium, Russia has not quelled its military aggression.

In the wake of Crimea’s annexation, Russia’s foreign policy shifted towards a more confrontational stance. For the first time, Russia was in a direct conflict with a nation that it did not control.

The United States and the European Union were quick to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but this opprobrium has not deterred its military aggression. Observers of the Russian military warn that the likelihood of war is now higher than it was during the spring.

Russia’s narrative of blaming Nato’s expansion eastwards

Throughout the Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has thrown his weight behind a narrative that the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) eastwards is the culprit behind the conflict. It has become a dominant framework for explaining the war and the crisis. It has been repeated by many politicians and writers in the United States and Europe. However, there is no definitive answer to the question of whether Russia’s military intervention is the result of the threat posed by Nato’s enlargement.

The expansion of the organisation is not the primary cause of tension between the two nations. In fact, it has only been a minor source of tension.

The claim that the expansion of Nato was the cause of the Ukraine crisis is a bit of a stretch. It is also not a good argument. It ignores the fact that both Russia and the West have been cooperative on a number of issues over the past thirty years. It ignores the fact that the Soviet Union never actually attacked the United States, and that there is no evidence that NATO ever tried to invade the USSR.

There are many more important reasons for the war. The main one is that the US has been pushing for Ukraine to join the organization, which would make the country a Western bulwark on the Russian border.